GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks edge higher on Trump remarks; dollar slides

(Adds close of U.S. markets)
* Wall Street bides its time, awaiting news from trade front
* Investors weary amid mixed messages from Trump
* Dollar retreats on recent poor U.S. economic data
* Pound romps higher on hopes election will allow smooth
Brexit

By Herbert Lash
NEW YORK, Dec 5 (Reuters) - Solid economic data lifted
government debt yields on Thursday while global equity markets
edged slightly higher after U.S. President Donald Trump said
trade talks with China are "moving right along."
Treasury yields rose on reports indicating a resilient U.S.
economy, including a fall in weekly jobless claims and a decline
in the U.S. trade deficit, which suggested trade could
contribute to growth in the fourth quarter. Gold closed little changed as mixed messages on the
U.S-China trade negotiations stirred uncertainty. Trump had said
talks with China were going "very well" during his London visit
for the NATO summit while warning earlier that a deal may come
only after U.S. elections in November 2020.
But Trump struck an upbeat tone on Thursday even as Chinese
officials held fast to their line that existing tariffs must
come off as part of an interim deal to de-escalate the 17-month
trade war between the two powers. Markets will toggle up and down until Dec. 15, when the
United States is scheduled to implement a new round of tariffs
on China, said Matthew Kea tor, managing partner in the Keator
Group, a wealth management firm in Lenox, Massachusetts.
U.S. tariffs on about $156 billion of Chinese imports are
set to begin in 10 days.
"The wild card remains what President Trump is going to do
about leaving those tariffs in place or not implementing them,"
said Michael James, managing director of equity trading at
Wedbush Securities in Los Angeles.
MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe .MIWD00000PUS rose
0.19%, lifted by gains overnight in Asia and by Apple APPL.O
on Wall Street. Citigroup raised its price target for the
largest U.S. company by market cap to $300 from $250 a share.
Apple rose 1.47% to $265.58.
The pan-regional STOXX 600 index .STOXX closed down 0.13%.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose
28.01 points, or 0.1%, to 27,677.79. The S&P 500 .SPX gained
4.67 points, or 0.15%, to 3,117.43 and the Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC added 4.03 points, or 0.05%, to 8,570.70. U.S. economic reports countered data earlier this week that
showed manufacturing activity contracted for a fourth straight
month in November, a slowdown in services sector growth and a
drop in construction spending in October. The dollar fell for a fifth straight session as some traders
worried about the week's economic data. A stronger euro and
strengthening British pound also hurt the greenback.
Sterling has gained more than 1.5% this week against the
dollar on views the ruling Conservative Party will likely win a
majority in next week's election and end 3-1/2 years of
Brexit-related uncertainty by taking Britain out of the European
Union.
The dollar index .DXY fell 0.28%, with the euro EUR= up
0.26% to $1.1105. The Japanese yen strengthened 0.09% versus the
greenback at 108.79 per dollar.
Sterling GBP= was last trading at $1.3162, up 0.45% on the
day.
Investors remained focused on how much damage the trade war
is causing around the world and whether the signs of economic
stabilization in the euro zone will continue.
German industrial orders fell unexpectedly and retail sales
in the euro zone fell at their sharpest rate this year in
October. Overall, the euro zone economy grew at a modest pace in
the third quarter.
Germany's blue-chip index .GDAXI , home to major industrial
exporters, fell 0.48%.
German 10-year bond yields rose slightly more than 2 basis
points to -0.2930 percent DE10YT=RR . Other core government
bond yields also moved between 1 and 2 bps BE10YT=RR .
The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note US10YT=RR fell
8/32 in price to yield 1.8068%. Oil prices rose on expectations the Organization of the
Petroleum Exporting Countries and allied oil producers will
deepen production cuts in an effort to prop up prices and
prevent a glut next year. Brent crude LCOc1 futures rose 39 cents to settle at
$63.39 a barrel. U.S. crude CLcv1 settled unchanged at $58.43
a barrel.
U.S. gold futures GCv1 settled up 0.2% at $1,483.10 per
ounce.

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HSBC chart on Asia earnings Dec 5, 2019 https://tmsnrt.rs/2RkYIC0
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